Carl XII

1682 – Carl XII von Holstein-Gottorp, King of Sweden, was born on June 17th.

1697 – He succeeded to the title of King Carl XII of Sweden.

– Karl inherited the throne at age 15, Sweden controlled the Baltic and ruled Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and significant parts of northern Germany.

1708 – He was forced south after failing to mount an attack on Moscow.

1709 – His luck ran out at Poltava in the Ukraine (in part because the Cossacks had been crushed before they could join him).

1711 – The Turks attacked and defeated Russia, with some help from Karl, but they were not interested in continuing the war further, and their rather generous settlement with the Russians included a provision allowing / forcing the inconvenient Swedish king to return to his kingdom.

1718 – His proposed surprise raid on England was too insane to carry through, and when he was finally killed in battle on December 11th at the age of 36, many suspected that it was a Swede who had pulled the trigger.